Joe Biden used his final TV interview on Thursday to warn against the erosion of the fundamental guardrails protecting an increasingly “fragile” American democracy.

The outgoing US president highlighted the specific threat posed by a cowed Supreme Court and Congress unable to keep an autocratic presidency in check.

His comments came a day after he urged Americans to stand firm against an “oligarchy” forming under Donald Trump, his successor, who has allied himself with tech billionaires such as Elon Musk.

Mr Biden, in a recorded interview with MSNBC - his last before leaving office on Monday - also revealed details of his conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and discussed the situation in Ukraine.

“I really am concerned about how fragile democracy is,” Mr Biden said. “I really think we’re in an inflection point in history here where, unrelated to any particular leader, things are going to change drastically.”

“So I guess what I’m worried about is that the thing that keeps it on track are the guardrails, that there’s a Supreme Court that’s independent,” Mr Biden said, and a Congress where you “speak your mind but you’re held accountable to basic standards”.

He said the president may be the “top dog” but “you can’t dictate everything.”